Blood gone Bad
by Firecraka
Summary: When the only friend that looks up to Bigby goes missing in unfavourable circumstances, what will keep the Big Bad Wolf from staying his hand in order to save him, and at what cost? Tensions arise in the office! Chapter 2 up, Slight Bigby X Bloody Mary, feedback much appreciated!
1. Another long day

Another dreary street in the city, another smog-filled residence biting against the ageing signs of a gradual and slowly wrought urban decay. The hustle of an evening commute, steps and lost mundy's tapping against the pavement in search of dwellings- amongst them a figure that passes with an idle regard, occasionally studying the side walk.

The tap of a huff and puff cigarette sends a spiral of crying ash to the stone-cold pavement, the same hand causing it to then rise as he takes a much-needed drag. He always preferred the night- Despite the disturbances of bright lights and the culmination of the day's pollution striking his feral sense of smell, it was the one time Bigby Wolf could muster his thoughts against the sleeping hum of the city.

Much had changed since the Crooked man had fallen into the witching well, a court dispensing judgement to his crimes, a last minute testimonial delivered by the only girl to survive a ribbon that wrapped-still wraps her neck. It should have been easy to accept all that occurred, to have finally uprooted the cancer that had been silently festering its silent roots upon the community.

Yet something was _still missing._

A southern flick of the burned out smoke would soon be met with the end of the Sheriff's leather shoes, grinding the spark of flame to its death.

It wasn't a long walk to his apartment now.

-  
_  
The woodland luxury apartments, 12:03am.._

The third press yielded no result as Bigby's thick finger removed itself from jamming the lift's call button.

It was the third time this month that the damn thing refused to work- but always notably when the Sheriff had forfeited sleep for work, the majority of it now spent behind his work desk- He grimaced at the thought of finding further paperwork on his own, personal desk, but was far too tired to even consider getting a head start on tomorrow's tasks.

By the time the worn-sheriff reached the second flight of stairs, Grimble's snoring had become a little less heavy on the ear. Every step to apartment 204 felt strangely stretched- Perhaps merely a consequence of hoping that Colin wasn't sleeping on his chair again. He really didn't want to have to tell him, let alone pry him off.

The smell that filled his senses upon arriving at his door however, spoke of a complete opposite.

''...Shit.''

The involuntary commentary did little to settle the wolf's perception of blood. Another draw through his nostrils and he was certain of it- The key to the lock turning slowly, slower still so that no sound would voice itself of his arrival. As the door to his apartment opened, so too did that overpowering scent of bloodied swine, the slits of Bigby's eyes scanning the interior between the apparent folds of dark.

''Hi _Wolfy_.''

Any sign of Collin's usually irritating presence was replaced by a deep sense of foreboding. The figure that sat upon his chair at the end of his small residence turned only ever so slightly so that half of her features would be met to his gaze. It had seemed she had been watching the television, an old Mundy sit-com upon which the audience would still laugh at the jokes that needed the assurance.

Bigby's eyes would betray the calm, purposeful nature and step his body would take- If a gaze could speak bloody murder, his own would revel at the chance of it, closing the door behind him as he bit back the desire to turn there and then, and shred a hole through the uninvited guest.

''What's wrong deary? You are not happy to see me? It just so happens that I was _dying_ to see you.''

Bloody Mary's smile would also betray the look of malice ever-present in her gaze. The seductive, sinister air upon which she reigned a throne of fear and death, clearly one that could have only been made worse by the recollection of a Mundy's knowledge of her story, and how foolish it would be to chant her name, five times before a mirror.

Everything about her wanton gaze dared the wolf to come at her, as if inviting him to violence in a way that somehow comprehended his very nature- left staring as the hoarse, cigarette beaten voice of the Sheriff filled the room in a lowly drawn rumble.

''...Look. If you are that desperate to die, get in line and you'll _get your fucking turn_ because I've had an incredibly long day of bullshit. So before I lose my temper- I'm only going to ask you this once. _Where's Collin?_''

''Worried about a little piggie now, are we?''

The tilt of her head would offer a strange look of pity that riled the inside of the Wolf's core as he watched her rise slowly, approaching him with a hand pressed against her hip. Her glance over the apartment and gesture to the bloodstained walls would yield a look of amusement.

''Your little boyfriend's been picked up at the request of my employer. He did make a lot of noise, but it's nothing we couldn't fix.''

As if on que, Mary's sleight of hand would raise to reveal a long, cut-off tongue impaled between a shard of sharp glass, head tilted as she studied the look of horror about Bigby's features.

''You fucking BITCH!''

Before his fist could crash against the delicately sharp nature of her face, a bladed hand of glass had already weaved it's way into Bigby's side, causing him to buckle as she capitalized on the moment, knee rising high to crack the underside of the Sheriff's jaw. The table housing the phone would collapse as Bigby would unexpectedly hit the floor, hands scrambling to reach up, suddenly then impaled by shards of glass, pinning him down.

Mary's form would straddle the man going Feral, hair and teeth flared into a snarl as she'd breathe over his lips, clutching him with inhumane strength.

''We are going to play a little game, wolfy. We ring you, to do a job for us. You don't do what we tell you- _the pig dies_. You don't do when we tell you..._the pig, dies_. You don't do it where we tell you..._the pig...dies._ You tell that bitch in the off-''

The claws that reach for Mary's throat grip with the intention to kill, the feral being beneath her only a few steps away from becoming truly bad. A fleeting moment before the wolf can crush her windpipe, her tongue slides over his lips, placing a kiss that completely throws his focus off before she blinks out of sight.

Frantically looking around within his apartment, the trail of a red jacket can be seen pacing away in the mirror opposite of where the floored Sheriff lays. He smashes it suddenly in a rage, losing the lead to the sounds of what is almost a distant laughter.

Clearly, it was going to be another sleepless night.


	2. Business as usual

_The business office, 8:03am.._

''Please, take a seat Bigby.''

Snow's tone mirrored the cold of her own name, the blue orbs behind her gaze methodically trailing over anything which captured the direction of her razory focus. Despite it only a matter of a few weeks, the office itself had undergone a minature renovation, with a much keener sense of order- Books no longer scattered beneath the shelves they belonged to in an untidy mess and some of the cracks upon the floor had been filled and fixed.

''And whilst you are at it, please put that smoke out.''

Bigby's gaze lifted to regard Snow's pristine features, lip parted between the partial drag he had just taken. If it was a game of silence, Snow was _always_ the winner. Much like the way he found her during the days that lead up to the Exodus, it was the same eyes that stayed the wolf's jaws from taking more than just her shackles.

An unheard sigh escaped the Sheriff's lips, Uncharacteristically killing the flame of the cigarette using his two fingers before tossing it in the trashcan and having taken a seat. A moment of uncomfortable silence would fill the room, leaving only an aching sense of tension.

''So what's the issue?''

__

_He didn't like that. _

It would have been easy enough to narrow down how much she had changed since becoming the acting Mayor to simple job adjustments, not that she'd have much to adjust to in the first place, given at how she ran the office regardless of Crane's presence. Yet it was as tangible to the wolf as the sweet scent of her skin- _She had changed _and he had no idea why. Her question felt more like a pointed sign asking him to get on with it and get out, lest he make her late.

''It's about Colin, Snow. He's been abducted.''

Snow's eyes shot up from the document she appeared to be proof-reading, meeting Bigby's squarely. ''Colin? He's supposed to be at the farm. What are you talking about?''

''Uh..Yeah, about that, he didn't...go, I.. kept him around.''

The look of disapproval the acting mayor offered the Sheriff was one that Bigby, whatever he felt for snow, wasn't ready to tolerate. Before she could begin, his own voice asserted itself to present his point.

''Look, he's my friend, allright?''

''We said we were going to do this by the book, Bigby. Cut and dry. He was meant to go with Toad and T.J to the farm, two weeks back. You've been hiding him in your room, then?''

The wolf bit back ''He's my guest. He wasn't drawing any attention to himself by staying in my apartment.''

It had only become apparent to Bigby that Snow was yet again, tasking his comments and words behind another round of focus set upon the papers that were before her, making him once again wait before she offered to grant a response, file finally set to one side.

''You are the Sheriff of Fabletown, Bigby. Your job is to uphold the rules of our community so that other fables might follow in example. I can't have you acting above your station, or it's going to cause us serious problems.''

''We already have a serious problem, Snow. It was _Bloody Mary_.'' Not wanting to 'waste' her time anymore than he already begrudgingly felt he had, the drawn plastic packet from his satchel of evidence would rattle twice in Bigby's clasp, before the contents of Colin's severed tongue and a shard of glass would become tangible.

No sympathy, not even shock came from her visage, now resembling something closer to ice, like a reckoning dealt at the hands of a frosted judge, wording- ''You do realise this could have been avoided if he had gone, that day?''

__

_What's happened to you?_

It was in those draining moments that Bigby realised that the Snow whom had helped him so faithfully during the recent Murder investigation, wasn't the same Snow who watched him, observing in a manner that had already intricately discerned his worth, good and bad, but with what felt like an emphasis for flaw over trust. A brief, evasive glance towards the mirror masked Bigby's inward anger, a part of him wanting to suddenly settle the dispute in a more physical manner.

''Are you listening to me? Regardless, If Mary isn't dead as was stated in your report, then you'll need to do something about it. I'm going to assume that you've examined your apartment for further clues to where Colin may have been taken?''

The wolf's eyes turned back to give his superior a response before she demanded it. ''Yeah.'' He said, shedding back the desire to snap. ''I was thinking of asking the mirror actually..''

''Go.'' Snow white's focus would settle back again on her papers, leaving Bigby to rise up from his seat in an unceremonious manner and head his way. A look across his shoulder would observe to see Bufkin fly across to Snow's desk, presenting her with a number of books.

Sizing up the Mirror was something Bigby did in a casual observance of what would appear to be himself- He looked a little gruffer than usual, having not slept for nearly three nights, the circles beneath his eyes showing signs of his true age. The resignation to his darkened countenance would yield an already annoyed sigh as he'd word, clearly not a fan of speaking to himself-

''Look...just tell me where's Colin?''

_''The rules...Bigby?''_

''Oh for fuck's sake..'' The gesture though minimal through the use of his hand, would be enough to shred something had his claws been tangible. Obviously not wanting to crack against the potency of Bigby's harsh stare, the face behind the Mirror would curve into perception, regarding the Sheriff behind a calm, monotone manner and sound.

_''Though you know it once, I will tell you twice, the rules are the rules, the rhyme a price.'_'

''Mirror, Mirror _still in one piece,_ is Colin alive or does he rest in peace?''

Before the Mirror could offer it's comment on Bigby's veiled threat, a spread of shadows would fill the mirror's glass, revealing what appeared to be the freezer of a butchery- The pig in question, hanging from a meat-hook, tied by it's hind feet. The vague movement would make it difficult to discern if the swine were still alive or not, curving back and forth against other hooks, skinned sheep and cattle.

_''..Shit.''_


End file.
